Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in personal development but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Philip Shepherd, Founder of The Embodied Present Process (TEPP), located in Toronto, ON, Canada.
What's your business, and who are your customers?
My business has several branches. I write books (three so far: New Self, New World Radical Wholeness, and Deep Fitness), teach TEPP workshops around the world, run TEPP Facilitator's Trainings, and coach people in embodiment and presentation skills. The core concern that drives each of those is to understand the deepest roots of our disconnection – our disconnection from nature, from the body, from our soul's purpose, and from each other – and to help people forge their own journey of reconnection by showing them how our culture conditions us to disconnect and offering simple, practical exercises to help them reunite with their body's deep intelligence. The people drawn to my work come from a variety of backgrounds, but each of them is seeking clarity in their lives, and many have been disappointed by other approaches.
Tell us about yourself
My business grew out of my personal desire to be as fully present in life as possible. This is a passion that has guided my entire life – the passion for living in the freedom of wholeness. Over the years, I discovered that every impediment to my freedom could be found in some habitual pattern or clenched energy in the body. So over decades, I learned how to undo the entanglements that confined me and began teaching what I'd learned to others. In 2011 I published my first book, 'New Self, New World,' which had taken me ten years to write. The business grew naturally from there, as I was invited to teach workshops first at home and then abroad. I am carried by the mission to help as many people as I can find a new way of being – one that is not stuck orbiting inside the head but rather enables them to come to rest in the body, on the earth, and in the present.
What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?
The biggest accomplishment, and the greatest gratification for me, comes from witnessing individuals move into a new, calm, and grounded freedom for themselves. That's what keeps me going.
What's one of the hardest things that come with being a business owner?
One of the most challenging things about maintaining the business is sitting in front of the computer screen, dealing with the seemingly countless emails to be answered and questions that people have. But ultimately, I recognize that the work unfurls into the world through the relationships that gather around it – and emails are an essential part of developing and honoring those relationships.
What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?
- Let go of external notions of success. Trust your passion and what brings it to life.
- Never see others as a means to an end. Bring integrity to all your relationships.
- Don't be in a hurry – be in service.
Where can people find you and your business?
Website: https://embodiedpresent.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/EmbodiedPresent
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/philipshepherd/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/philip-shepherd-76287615/
If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solo or small business entrepreneur that you'd like to share, then please answer these interview questions. We'd love to feature your journey on these pages.
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